This disclosure relates generally to consumer transactions and, more particularly, to systems and methods for tokenless authentication of consumers during payment transactions when the consumer is physically present at a merchant location.
During retail transactions conducted at a merchant location, such as a “walk-in” storefront location, a paying consumer may wish to make a purchase with a payment card account, such as with a credit card, a debit card, a pre-paid card, etc. To execute a transaction, the consumer presents the physical payment card to the merchant at the time of purchase. The physical card identifies the particular payment account to be used during the transaction. The merchant (and other parties affiliated with the transaction) may presume that the underlying payment account is controlled by the consumer based on the consumer's demonstrated possession of the physical card (i.e., this person has the card, so the card must be theirs). However, physical cards may become lost, stolen, counterfeited, or otherwise abused by fraudulent third-parties. As such, possession of the payment card may not be a reliable indicator of underlying control or ownership of the payment account.
Secure execution of these payment account transactions require determining what underlying payment account to use for the transaction (i.e., account identification), as well as verifying that the consumer is authorized to use the underlying payment account (i.e., consumer authentication).